Thousands of iPhone 6 users claim they have been left holding almost worthless phones because Apple’s latest operating system permanently disables the handset if it detects that a repair has been carried out by a non-Apple technician.​

I understand and in principle agree that it is necessary to ensure the fingerprint sensor has not been tampered with or replaced. After all, a counterfeit would allow an unauthorized third party to access all the data on the phone including Apple Pay. I guess if the situation was reversed, that is, if a counterfeit ID sensor could be sucessfully installed, then there would be a lot of complains about how insecure the OS is and maybe people would even demand Apple reimburse supposedly unauthorized expenses.

If you make your phone the pivotal point of your life, going as far as making it your actual wallet and personal data repository, then it should be as tamper-proof as Apple is making them with this policy. I find it surprising that I agree on this, but I'm just looking at my leather wallet holding my credit and debit cards and a few banknotes, and if I were to install a lock on it I'd like said lock to be impossible to replace by third parties. Otherwise what's the point?

That said, this is yet another reason why I haven't yielded that much power to an electronic device full of magic smoke

I guess Apple will eventually have to compromise somewhat on this issue, perhaps lowering the security of the device. Wonder what the user reactions will be?

I prefer not to read the article in case its facts ruin my fantasies, but I like to imagine Siri quizzes each tech and uses the answers to determine whether they are who they say they are before they engage in repairs. But I wonder what happens if a tech goes through a midlife crisis and their personality changes enough that Siri no longer recognizes them. I feel like there's a sitcom there.

Touch ID should just be disabled in the event of that authentication failure and a 6 digit password be required as previously. Some users don't like Touch ID and choose not to enable it in the first place.

Experience is what you get when you thought you were getting something else.
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Apple says that phones aren't completely bricked. There is a way to recover from Error 53:

If the problem occurs, Apple suggests making sure that the phone is plugged in to the latest version of iTunes. If that doesn’t fix the phone, then users should force restart it by holding down both the sleep button and the home button until it reboots. Then users should try again to restore it through iTunes.

Further, Apple recommeds that if the problem continues then users should go to an Apple Store or another authorised service centre.
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But this doesn't jibe with the reports from users who claim to have taken their iPhone to an Apple Store and were told there device was ruined and they'll need to buy another.

Starts to look less sinister and much more reasonable IMO. So the phones are not really bricked, functionality is recoverable by the user himself, but probably requiring intervention by an authorized tech in certain cases. Apple should of course have informed the users about this problem before rolling out iOS 9, and maybe see if the claims about their tech people's lack of knowledge about this error are accurate, to reduce the incidence of these complains.

I remember a few years ago my sister's home's main door's lock failed and wouldn't properly close the door. She was angry because she had to call the door vendor (it was a security door with a lot of bolts) and have them fix the lock at a premium price. Of course that was after she had called the locksmith that worked around the block, and he had made things worse by locking everyone outside the house in his attempt to fix it. I think it's the same with the Apple fingerprint sensor check: you want to keep your data/money secure, then only those who made the device should be allowed to tinker with its innards. Please bear in mind that this is a personal opinion, from the vantage point of someone who a) last used an Apple device back in 1996 or so, b) does not use or plan to use Apple Pay or its Android equivalent, and c) thinks there's a lot more panic and anger around this newest Applegate than the situaton merits.

I prefer not to read the article in case its facts ruin my fantasies, but I like to imagine Siri quizzes each tech and uses the answers to determine whether they are who they say they are before they engage in repairs. But I wonder what happens if a tech goes through a midlife crisis and their personality changes enough that Siri no longer recognizes them. I feel like there's a sitcom there.

The data from the fingerprint is stored within its own special area of the phone, Apple told the Guardian. With an Apple repair, the connection between the phone and the sensor will be re-checked — but third-party repairs won’t do that, and the phone will therefore shut itself down to ensure that it stays safe.

The company says that it wouldn’t be secure to use the fingerprint sensor in any other way.

“Without this unique pairing, a malicious touch ID sensor could be substituted, thereby gaining access to the secure enclave,” Apple told the Guardian. “When iOS detects that the pairing fails, touch ID, including Apple Pay, is disabled so the device remains secure.